REDF Consultant Request for Information

REDF Overview

REDF (the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund) is a pioneering venture philanthropy galvanizing a national movement of employment social enterprises—purpose-driven, revenue-generating businesses that help people striving to overcome employment barriers get jobs, keep jobs, and build a better life. For people with histories of incarceration, homelessness,and other high barriers to employment*—social enterprises provide the paying jobs and services they need to stabilize their lives, develop a work history, and build skills and confidence. When employees are ready, social enterprises help them find competitive employment.

Research shows this approach works. It leads to greater economic security and mobility and a significant rate of return to society—$2.23 in benefits for every $1 invested in social enterprise.

REDF provides seed and growth capital in the form of grants and loans to the country’s most effective and innovative employment social enterprise. To amplify that investment, we provide specialized consulting services to help these unique businesses and their employees thrive.

REDF Consultant Pool Overview:

Over the years, REDF has partnered with a small select group of talented consultants to complement our capacity, for ourselves and our social enterprise partners, mostly sourced informally through our network. The purpose of this RFI is to greatly expand and diversify the
pool of consultants we work with, as well as to provide more consistency and structure in how we source and engage with consultants. REDF is seeking U.S.-based consultants to join REDF’s Consultant Pool (Pool). The Pool will serve as a source of prequalified experts who may be solicited to provide assistance and advisory services to selected REDF employment social enterprises. REDF will then issue solicitations restricted to Pool members on an as-needed basis.

What areas of expertise are we looking for?

• Program Development (e.g., logic model design, program evaluation, employee supports, job retention, employer engagement, etc.)
• Business Planning (e.g., product/market fit, biz dev/sales, marketing and branding, pricing, growth strategy, etc.)
• Development (e.g., fundraising strategy, public funding opportunities, etc.)
• Human Capital (e.g., executive coaching, HR, board development, leadership transitions, DEI, employee engagement, organizational culture building, etc.)
• Finance, Accounting, & Administration (e.g., IT, data systems, asset planning, accounting, financial management, legal) Strategy & Planning (e.g., general strategy planning, offsite/meeting facilitation, project management, etc.)

Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) matters in our work

At REDF, we envision a thriving and inclusive society where all people have the jobs and the support they need to realize their full potential. The unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences that our staff, consultants, and partners bring informs our work and helps us move towards this vision. We believe it can enhance the consultant/social enterprise relationship if consultants have backgrounds and/or lived experiences that are similar to the people our social enterprises employ*.

We are also seeking to consciously engage with consultants who identify as BIPOC or an individual with lived experience because it more broadly supports REDF’s equity goals through a commitment to increasing representation and inclusion to those who have historically been underrepresented in the field.

With these points in mind, this RFI includes a few optional demographic and identity questions to help us build a diverse consultant pool.

*ESEs work with people who are/have: justice-impacted, history of homelessness, history of mental illness including substance use disorder, opportunity youth, people with refugee or asylee status, survivors of domestic abuse and/or trafficking.

Submission Requirements, Selection Process & Nature of Engagement

• Interested applicants should fill out and submit the REDF RFI to be considered for the Pool. You will be able to save your progress and return to the survey. **Note: You must use the same device and web browser used to start the survey because a cookie is stored in your browser that remembers the survey responses
• REDF will review each submission, on a rolling basis, for individual and organizational fit and capacity.
• REDF will contact all applicants after their submission to confirm it was received. To be considerate of your time, we will wait to reach out to you for an interview until we have projects in the pipeline that match your skillsets and expertise. Applicants will then be invited to send over work samples and do a short 30-minute interview with REDF staff. After the interview if an applicant is moved on to the next stage, we will ask you to submit 1-2 references of clients you have worked with, over the last 2-3 years. Successful applicants will then be added to the Consultant Pool.
• If you are currently working with REDF then you will not be required to complete an interview
• We envision this pool as a flexible, efficient and valuable resource in support of REDF’s work. While there is no guarantee to either REDF or the consultant, REDF will only select consultants into the Pool they hope and expect to engage.
• As/when specific projects arise, the REDF Capacity Building team will share a scope of work, with consultants with the needed skill set and expertise, for review and eventual selection.

Have Any Questions? 
If you have any questions about this process or the RFI itself, please email:
Maura Welch
Associate Director, Capacity Building
mwelch@redf.org

Elizabeth Heredia Benjamin
Senior Manager, Capacity Building
eheredia@redf.org